Weekend takeaway: 10 tech stories you need to read right now

26 Jun 2015

Ten nuggets of tech news you need to read now

Ten nuggets of knowledge to take away for the weekend, including 1,000 tech jobs in Ireland, start-up space shortage in Dublin and educational inequalities for girls.

1. More than 1,000 tech jobs announced in Ireland during June

There were more than 1,000 tech jobs announced in Ireland in June. Dublin landed the majority but there were also major announcements for Roscommon, Limerick, Drogheda, Derry and Wexford.

2. Alastair Blair: ‘As office space risks running out, Dublin needs an IFSC for start-ups’

Dublin has a six-to-eight month window before available start-up space in the city centre is ‘sold out’. A visionary solution is needed as start-ups will represent the next wave of FDI, warns Accenture’s country manager for Ireland Alastair Blair.

3. Educational inequalities for girls highlighted (infographic)

Diversity in STEM was what Inspirefest 2015, Silicon Republic’s event that took place last week, was all about.

4. Rival driverless cars in near-collision on open road (updated)

It was bound to happen eventually. News from California claims that driverless cars being tested by Google and Delphi ‘squared off’ with one another on the state’s roads with one of them needing to take evasive action.

5. Spillikin, a love story between a robot and an elderly woman

A robotics company in the UK has teamed up with a production company to begin working on a new play called Spillikin that follows a robot uploaded with human memory of a deceased husband who loves his wife.

6. CAO Change of Mind: Change direction, think STEM

The summer months are full of milestones for Leaving Cert students, from the start of exams, to results, to college offers. One such milestone is approaching — the last day for CAO Change of Mind.

7. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warns of ‘tough choices’ for software giant

In a mission statement for Microsoft to “empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more” CEO Satya Nadella has warned of tough choices for the company.

8. Mark Little leaves Storyful after turning an Irish start-up into a global media brand

After founding Storyful five years ago and selling it just over a year ago to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp for €18m Mark Little is off to pastures new.

9. NASA space settlement design contest won by Dublin school

John Scottus School, Ballsbridge, has proved victorious in a global contest run by NASA Ames, beating out the competition to claim first prize for its space settlement design.

10. Future Creators Programme shaping careers

More than half of those who have graduated from The Digital Hub’s Future Creators Programme said that it has strongly influenced the career path they want to take, with many now interested in careers in media studies, engineering, programming, games development and business.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com